Amphibian list from Marinheiros Island, Lagoa dos Patos estuary, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

Little is known about amphibian communities on estuarine islands. The present study provides a list of amphibians from Marinheiros Island, Lagoa dos Patos estuary, Rio Grande do Sul State, southern Brazil. Between March 2006 and July 2008, two sites on the island were sampled covering biotopes of intermittent shallow lakes, swamps, wet fields, sandy dunes, and peat forest. Sixteen species from six families (Bufonidae, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperidae, Hylidae, Cycloramphidae and Microhylidae) were recorded through active searching, vocalization monitoring, pitfall traps and arboreal collectors. Except Melanophryniscus dorsalis (Mertens), which is threatened with extinction, all species are common in surrounding “restinga” areas. This survey contributes to the knowledge on the biodiversity of subtropical estuarine islands.